Kidney, navy and other varieties of dried beans are good candidates for canning
or storage. Of course, you can store the dried, too, but some people prefer them
canned. In your own home garden, leave the beans on the vine to mature. They
will dry naturally.

In canning the dried beans, there is a key tip: Water plays an important part in
the final quality of canned beans. The harder the water used for soaking and
blanching, the harder and firmer the finished beans. Also, excessive alkalinity
will cause the beans to disintegrate somewhat, becoming soft and mushy. However,
this will not be seen until after canning them. there's not much you can do
about this, but try to avoid "softened" water.

The only other trick is, you really do need a pressure canner. Every university
food science department and the government will tell you that it just is not
safe to use the water bath bath method; it takes the higher temperatures of the
pressure canner to kill the botulism bacteria.

BUT, with a pressure canner it's easy. And although a pressure canner
costs $100 to $200 (see this page for pressure canners models, makes and
prices), they last a lifetime, and your children and grandchildren may be using
it. You can also find free information from the USDA in this PDF file (it will
take a while to load!) about
selecting and using canners here!

Prepared this way, the jars have a shelf life of about 12 months, and aside
from storing in a cool, dark place, require no special attention.
If you'd rather freeze your fruit, see my page on
how to freeze green beans. Even
easier than canning and they will taste just like fresh.. but it does take up
space in the freezer.

Directions for Making Canned Dried Beans and Peas

Ingredients and Equipment

Dried Beans or Peas (see step 1)

Jar grabber (to pick up the hot jars)

Jar funnel ($2 at mall kitchen stores and local "big box" stores,
but it's usually cheaper online from our affiliates)

At least 1 large pot

Large spoons and ladles

Ball jars (Publix, Kroger, other grocery stores and some "big box"
stores carry them - about $8 per dozen quart jars including the lids and
rings)

Salt (optional - I don't use any)

1 Pressure Canner (a large pressure pot with a lifting rack to
sanitize the jars after filling (about $75 to $200 at mall kitchen
stores and "big box" stores, but it is cheaper online;
see this page for more information). For low acid foods (most
vegetables, you can't use an open water bath canner, it has to be a
pressure canner to get the high temperatures to kill the bacteria. If
you plan on canning every year, they're worth the investment.

Recipe and Directions

Step 1 - Selecting the dried beans or peas

The most important step! You need dried beans that are FRESH -
not old to begin with! Remove and discard any soft, diseased or
spotted beans.

How many dried beans or peas and where to get them

You can grow your own, pick your own, or buy them at the grocery store.
About 5 pounds of beans makes 7 quart jars; or 3-1/4 pounds is needed per
canner load of 9 pints - an average of 3/4 of a pound per quart. A bushel,
which produces anywhere from 13 to 20 quarts, weighs 30 pounds.

Step 2 - Prepare the jars and pressure canner

Wash the jars and lids

This is a good time to get the jars ready! The dishwasher is fine for
the jars; especially if it has a "sanitize" cycle. Otherwise put the jars
in boiling water for 10 minutes. I just put the lids in a small pot of
almost boiling water for 5 minutes, and use the magnetic "lid lifter wand"
(available from target, other big box stores, and often grocery stores;
and available online - see this page) to pull them out.

Get a large pot of water boiling

We will use this water to pour over the beans and fill each jar with
liquid, after we've packed them full of beans. I use the largest pot I
have, so that there is plenty of clean, boiling water ready when I need
it.

Get the pressure canner heating up

Rinse out your pressure canner, put the rack plate in the bottom, and
fill it to a depth of 4 inches with hot tap water. (of course, follow
the instruction that came with the canner, if they are different). Put
it on the stove over low heat, with the lid OFF of it, just to get it
heating up for later on.

Step 3 -Wash the dried beans or peas!

I'm sure you can figure out how to rinse the dried beans
or peas in plain cold or lukewarm water.

Step 4 - Soak to Rehydrate the beans

You can use one of the following methods:

Method 1. Place washed dried beans or peas in a large pot and
cover with water. Soak 12 to 18 hours in a cool place. Drain and discard the
water.

Method 2. To quickly hydrate beans, you may cover washed beans
with boiling water in a saucepan. Boil 2 minutes, remove from heat, soak 1
hour and drain. Discard the water.

Step 5 - Heat/cook the beans

Cover beans soaked by either method with fresh water and boil 30 minutes. Add
1/4 teaspoon of salt per pint or teaspoon per quart to the jar, if desired. Save
the water you cook them in!

Step 6 - Packing the beans in the canning jars

Fill jars with beans or peas . Pack the jars evenly, but be sure to
leave 1 inch of space at the TOP of the jar.

Step 8 - Pour boiling water into each packed jar

Fill the space around the beans to 1 inch from the top of the jar with
the water you cooked the beans in. That 1 inch space is called
"headspace" and is needed for expansion during heading. Use a
ladle or pyrex measuring cup to carefully fill each packed jar with
water from pot of boiling water. The beans should be covered and there
should still be 1 inch of airspace left in the top of each jar. Be
careful not to burn yourself, (or anyone else - children should be kept
back during this step!)

Step 9 - Put the lids and rings on

Put the lids on each jar and seal them by putting a ring on and
screwing it down snugly (but not with all your might, just "snug").

Step 10 - Put the jars in the canner and the lid on the canner (but still
vented)

Using the jar tongs, put the jars on the rack in the canner. By
now the water level has probably boiled down to 3 inches. If it is
lower than that, add more hot tap water to the canner. When all the jars
that the canner will hold are in, put on the lid and twist it into
place, but leave the weight off (or valve open, if you have that type of
pressure canner).

Step
11 - Let the canner vent steam for 10 minutes

Put the heat on high and let the steam escape through
the vent for 10 minutes to purge the airspace inside the canner.

"Pressure canning is the only safe method for home canning
vegetables. Clostridium botulinum is the bacterium that
causes botulism food poisoning in low-acid foods, such as
vegetables. The bacterial spores are destroyed only when the
vegetables are processed in a pressure canner at 240 degrees
Fahrenheit (F) for the correct amount of time.

Clostridium botulinum is the bacterium commonly found
in vegetables and meats. It is harmless until it finds itself in
a moist, low-acid, oxygen-free environment or a partial vacuum.
Under these conditions, the bacterium can grow and produce
toxins dangerous to people and animals.

Do not process (low acid)
vegetables using the boiling water bath because the botulinum
bacteria can survive that method.

And Clemson
University provides these questions and answers:

Can fruits and vegetables be canned without heating if aspirin is
used? No. Aspirin should not be used in canning. It cannot be
relied on to prevent spoilage or to give satisfactory products.
Adequate heat treatment is the only safe procedure.

Is it safe to can dried beans or peas in a boiling water bath
if vinegar is used? No. Recommended processing methods must be
used to assure safety. Recommended processing times cannot be
shortened if vinegar is used in canning fresh vegetables. (This does
not refer to pickled vegetables.)

Salt and sugar are not preservatives for vegetables: they are added to
stabilize and improve flavor, but will not prevent spoilage.

Using Aspirin for Canning

Several years ago, a recipe circulated using aspirin to acidify
tomatoes and dried beans or peas for canning. Aspirin is not recommended
for canning. While it contains salicylic acid, it does not sufficiently
acidify tomatoes or dried beans or peas for safe hot water bath canning.
dried beans or peas are low acid foods and may only be processed safely
in a pressure canner. Lemon juice or vinegar is recommended to acidify
tomato products for safe water bath processing.

Think of it like smoking. We all know someone who
smoke their entire life and lived to be 90. But the cemeteries are
filled with the vast majority who didn't. You'll hear people say "my
grandmother did it that way for 20 years". But of course, the people
who died from food poisoning aren't around and often didn't have descendants
to tell their tale...

Pressure canners!

If you want to can low-acid foods such as red meats, sea food, poultry,
milk, and all fresh vegetables with the exception of most tomatoes,
you will need a pressure canner. These foods fit into the low
acid group since they have an acidity, or pH level, of 4.6 or greater. The
temperature which must be reached and maintained (for a specified amount
of time) to kill the bacteria is 240 F. Pressure canning is the only
canning method recommended safe by the U.S.D.A. for low-acid foods such as
vegetables, meats, and fish. Ordinary water bath canners can only reach
212 F and cannot to kill the types of bacteria that will grow in low acid
foods. This temperature can be reached only by creating steam under
pressure as achieved in quality pressure canners.

There are several manufacturers of pressure canners. The two
leading ones are Presto and All American (Wisconsin Aluminum). They are more
expensive than water bath canners, but extremely well built - I bought mine
in 1988 and it still looks and works like new!

Presto 01781 23-Quart Pressure Cooker/Canner

Amazon usually has this (through the links at left) for about $79.
(which is a GREAT price for a pressure canner). Click on the links
at left for more info and current pricing.

It
is tiring and laborious to prepare green beans for canning; there are so
many of them and you do them all by hand. But wait there's a new
device that makes it easy. Hmmm, actually, these devices have been
around since our great-grandfather's day! Here are several different
types and makes, some hand fed, some cranked: choose the one that meets your
need and budget!

Deluxe Food Strainer & Sauce Maker

With the Deluxe Food Strainer/Sauce Maker, you can make
creamy peach sauce and smooth tomato sauce without
having to peel and core! This multi-use strainer forces
food through a stainless steel screen, automatically
separating the juice and pulp from the seeds, shins, and
stems. Perfect for purees, creamed soups, baby foods,
pie filling, juices, jams, and more. Save time, effort,
and money by preparing your own tasty sauces to be used
immediately or boiled for future use. Do bushels with
ease and in a fraction of the time. Includes the
tomato/peach screen with easy twist on design and
instruction/recipe booklet.

The Deluxe model comes with the standard Tomato/peach
Screen; as well as the Berry Screen, Pumpkin Screen, and
Grape Spiral. Note

BUT, with a pressure canner it's easy. And although a pressure
canner costs $100 to $200 (see this page for pressure canners models,
makes and prices), they last a lifetime, and your children and
grandchildren may be using it. You can also find free information from
the USDA in this PDF file (it will take a while to load!) about
selecting and using canners here!

This is the same type of standard canner that my grandmother used to make everything from applesauce to jams and jellies to tomato and spaghetti sauce. This complete kit includes everything you need and lasts for years: the canner, jar rack, jar grabber tongs, lid lifting wand, a plastic funnel, labels, bubble freer. It's much cheaper than buying the items separately. You'll never need anything else except jars & lids (and the jars are reusable)! There is also a simple kit with just the canner and rack, and a pressure canner, if you want to do vegetables (other than tomatoes). To see
more canners, of different styles, makes and prices, click here!
Don't forget the Ball Blue Book!

Lids, Rings, Jars, mixes, pectin, etc.

Need lids, rings and replacement jars? Or pectin to make jam,
spaghetti sauce or salsa mix or pickle mixes? Get them all here, and
usually at lower prices than your local store!

Want to make a donation?
PickYourOwn.org does not charge either farmers or consumers! I do all
of the programming, web design and updates myself. If you'd like to make a
donation to help me pay to keep the website going, please make a donation to me
at Benivia through our secure donation processor. Just click the button
below and follow the instructions: